As the legislation enshrining cross-country support for Canada’s two official languages rounds the corner on its half-century mark, Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly is set to kick off the festivities at the University of Ottawa with the launch of a new “review” of the framework law that will, as per the advisory, include “celebrating our progress and looking towards the future” at a town hall with students and “representatives from language communities,” who will “discuss the legacy of the Act and the issues that are driving its modernization.”

Officially, her planned morning appearance in Richmond will focus on the grand unveiling of a new suite of proposed regulations to boost accessible transport for persons with disabilities, but Public Services Minister Carla Qualtrough may nevertheless find herself fielding questions on the SNC-Lavalin controversy after wading into the debate on whether the embattled Quebec-based engineering firm should be offered a deal to avoid criminal prosecution over the weekend.

Speaking with CTV Question Period host Evan Solomon, Qualtrough reiterated the government’s contention that a conviction could lead to job losses, but was unwilling to give a “precise number” or provide any hard data to back up the oft-repeated claim that many of the company’s 9,000 workers could be at risk.

According to her itinerary, Qualtrough will open the floor to media queries following the reveal of the proposed new rules on accessible transport, with Canadian Transportation Agency CEO Scott Steiner also expected to be in attendance.

Also in B.C. today: Newly installed Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau embarks on what her office is billing as her “First Agriculture Tour,” which is set to get underway in Vernon, where she’ll outline the details of new help for “B.C. farmers dealing with farm income challenges” before making her way to Kelowna with a fresh injection of federal support for the province’s tree fruit sector.

Elsewhere on the western leg of the ministerial circuit:

Rural Development Minister Bernadette Jordan makes the rounds in Saskatchewan, where she’s booked in for “important infrastructure events” in Prince Albert and Meadow Lake, while Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale delivers federal support for anti-gun-and-gang initiatives to the RCMP’s Regina headquarters.

Meanwhile, Infrastructure Minister François-Philippe Champagne makes his way to Edmonton for back-to-back events at a local transit centre and a city park.

AT COMMITTEE

Regular committee meetings will resume when the House and Senate re-open for business on March 18, 2019.